We didn’t get the results of Brandon’s labs until this morning. He was a little disappointed because the numbers were only slightly better than they were two weeks ago. He was hoping for a bigger improvement. Two weeks ago, his creatinine had dropped by a full point in only 10 days, and this time the drop was much smaller after 14 days. Still, he’s going in the right direction. It’s just taking more time than any of us hoped it would.

We leave next week for MD Anderson to find out what further treatment options there might, considering his kidney issues. Please keep Brandon in your thoughts and prayers, and we will share the news from Houston!

Brandon went in for his kidney labs today. It will probably be tomorrow before we have the results, but we will share when we have them. Please hold good thoughts and say a prayer that the numbers are better. He’s not having as many of the symptoms as before,  so we’re hoping that’s a good sign.

Next comes the trip to MD Anderson on Monday!

We just wanted to check in and let everyone know that Brandon has been continuing to work on his stamina, which seems to be his biggest obstacle. He’s getting better though! He’s been spending time with his family and figuring out what life looks like going forward. Thanks so much for continuing  to check in on him and leave comments. The support of his family and friends is so important as he finds his new normal.

He will have labs done again this week for the kidneys, and we are praying for another improvement. We will keep you posted!

Good news today! Brandon’s kidney numbers moved in the right direction again. Still not where he needs to be, but this gives us confidence that they will continue to improve. At his last appointment with the nephrologist, she told us that it was possible that he had leveled off and would remain where he was. If that had been the case, she would have done a kidney biopsy at his next appointment the week of July 24. Now the plan is to  just do lab work again that week. If he continues to improve, he will have some time off from the nephrologist and follow up with her in a couple of months.

We could tell Brandon seemed to be feeling better, so we had a good feeling that today’s results would be better. We used to wait until bedtime to do the updates because we couldn’t be sure how he would feel from one hour to the next. He still has his episodes of not feeling well, but they are fewer and less frequent. His main issue now is fatigue, and we believe it will just take a while to rebuild his endurance.

We probably won’t post updates as frequently over the next couple of weeks because there’s not as much change from day to day. Feel free to keep checking in with your comments though, as Brandon reads each and every one. And please keep the prayers and positive thoughts coming, as he draws strength from those. We will post if anything new comes up, and we will definitely let everyone know when the next kidney results come in. After that, we head to MD Anderson, and we’re sure to have lots of news to share from there!

There hasn’t been much to tell everyone the last few days. We have been waiting on new lab work for the kidney functions. Brandon is having that done today, and he will see the doctor to get the results tomorrow. Please send your most positive thoughts and prayers that his values are better! He’s been trying to follow the kidney diet to give his kidneys a chance to get stronger. Avoiding many of his favorite foods has been tough, but he seems to feel a little better. He still tires and gets short of breath easily.

Let’s hope we have good news to share tomorrow after his appointment!

Lots going on the past couple of days. MD Anderson called yesterday to schedule Brandon’s appointment with their mesothelioma oncologist. He will be going on August 1 and will be there 3-5 days for the initial consultation.

Brandon and Avery had a field trip today. They went to Crown Center/Hallmark to have lunch with Pawpaw and see the Thomas the Tank Engine exhibit. Brandon had fun but was exhausted afterwards. He went home and napped for almost 2 hours.

Continuing to pray for healthier kidneys! He goes for more lab work on Tuesday and sees the kidney doctor on Wednesday, so we will know more then.

Brandon got a call from his medical oncologist today saying that she had put in a referral to MD Anderson and he would be hearing from them soon to schedule an initial visit. They did call this afternoon and said they’d requested medical records from his surgical oncologist and would call back to schedule once they’d received those. So things are moving forward on that front.

Brandon said he felt okay today, and he spent the day with Kristen and Avery. It seemed like a pretty average day, which is a good thing. He still has shortness of breath and fatigue, but we are hoping he starts improving with each passing day!

Brandon, his dad and his good friend smoked a brisket for July 4. It was the best brisket ever! Brandon didn’t get much sleep at all, and he was exhausted halfway through the day, but he had a good day with his family. Avery loved her daddy’s brisket!

Up to this point, we were just praying for Brandon’s kidneys to be well enough to get off dialysis. Those prayers were answered. But what we should have been focusing on all along is complete healing, not just well enough to get off dialysis. That is our prayer. As you celebrate the holiday with your family, please send your healing thoughts and prayers for Brandon to overcome the kidney issues completely. Facing cancer is hard enough without additional roadblocks!

The good news today is that Brandon got his dialysis catheter removed! His lab results were almost identical to the results from last Thursday, which was a little disappointing. We were all hoping for and expecting improvement, as was Brandon’s doctor. But stable was good enough to get the catheter removed, so that’s what we’ll celebrate today. The doctor wants to continue to do labs weekly because his values are under the dialysis threshold but still well above normal. Our hope is that he will continue to move in the right direction. The doctor said there is a possibility that he’s leveled off and this will become his new normal. If he does remain stable (rather than improving) over the next couple of weeks, they will do a kidney biopsy just to make sure there’s nothing else going on that they’ve missed.

So let’s celebrate the healing that has taken place to get him off dialysis and pray for complete healing from the kidney failure.

We are in somewhat of a holding pattern this weekend, waiting for the lab work on Monday morning. We took the Wrangler out this morning, and Brandon and Avery both seemed to have a good time.

Brandon had a bump in the road this afternoon, not feeling too well for a while, but we hope it was just that…a bump in the road. Keeping our prayers and positive thoughts on the potassium values dropping and the kidney values going in the right direction for Monday morning’s appointment. We hope everyone is enjoying this holiday weekend!